OH boy, where do I start??
Let me tell you a brief but true story. For over a week now I have been sitting in a hospital room not knowing whether my wife of 10 years or my newborn son would fully recover from the various ailments that labor and delivery can create.
Here in Central Illinois we received about 6 inches of snow so while sitting on the 11th floor of the hospital I could look out the window while holding my infant son. It's amazing what the world looks like with freshly fallen snow. You don't seem to be able to see the dirt and grime that normally covers the world. You don't see the muggings. You don't see the homeless person looking for their next meal. The world is what the world should be.....peaceful and awe inspiring.
So, as I was contemplating life, as I was holding my baby son, the bad part of my personality came out and I had to view the BOI from my cell phone. As I was reading this particular thread and seeing a known good guy self-destruct, as I was seeing other people I have respect for inserting their feet into their mouths, I had to take a step back. I had to look away from my cell phone and view the wonder that was literally outside my window and in my very own lap. You see, I had to force myself to remember what beautiful really was. Thankfully, this time at least, it only required me to look at my beautifully son. Remembering how fortunate I am to be holding something that represents so much more than the typical bickering that I can engage in.
Jolles, here's my advice for you. Think twice. As a seller I know how frustrating it is to have lowball offers. I also know how tempting it is to fire off our first thoughts on the matter and simply allow our pride to blind us to the actual effect of our decisions. I have no doubts of any kind that you're a good guy who simply has a temper. I share that same boat with you my friend. The only difference is that I.....think twice. Stating my true opinions can often times lead me down a path that ends up costing much more money then what I could have made. Such is the situation for you. While I don't doubt that you will still sell your animals I also firmly believe that this thread will unfortunately cost you a few as well. That's a shame as I don't doubt that your calm self probably did not desire such a result. You're a good guy Jolles and you need to remember that BEFORE replying to emails or other threads.
For the rest of you, I can only offer this one thing. Take some time to look outside. Take some time to take stock in what actually matters. It's such a shame that it took the birth of my baby boy to remind me of this. Sometimes, we need to step back and stop the baiting. We need to take stock in what the BOI should be vs finding our amusement to the detriment of a good guy. Yes, he did bring a lot of this upon himself and he certainly baited some of you. But, at some point, whose going to be the bigger man? Did the purpose of the BOI actually get served this time? No, and it's threads like this, the one's where we simply find our amusement vs showcasing the bad guys that do more harm then good.
With a person like Peter you have to know when your words are falling on deaf ears. You knew his ears were closed due to his pride and temper yet you felt the need to still shout it at him. The better approach would be to simply let things die down and then offer up some friendly advice. It's amazing how much more effective friendly advice is vs offering it up during a heated debate.
Now, back to the more important things in my life. I reckon I don't plan on being nearly as active here as I once was. My once source of online enjoyment has, unknowingly until a few days ago, became more a source of stress for me. When I look back, it will be the time I shared with my babies vs the creation of bad guy threads, for people who never really fit that category to begin with, that I will cherish the most.
Bob